Chicago Bears preview
Chicago Bears 2008 Preview ReportJuly 30, 2008
You can’t find a more distinct contrast. It’s like a Smart ForTwo parked next to a Hummer H2. Or an albino Irishman standing beside a tribal African. All the ups and downs, fats and thins, blacks and whites, and lefts and rights in the world don’t compare to the juxtaposition that is the Chicago Bears.
The Bears have two divisions: the one they share with Green Bay, Detroit and Minnesota, and the one between their offense and defense. It’s the second one that kills their chances in the first.
Chicago’s defense is as sturdy as the Sears Tower. The offense is as shaky as a Jenga tower. Each Sunday, defensive leader Brian Urlacher makes crowds gasp and cheer. Offensive leader Rex Grossman makes them gasp and boo. Or laugh. Urlacher’s fellow linebacking partners (Lance Briggs and Hunter Hillenmeyer) smother the flats; Grossman’s fellow backfield mates (Jason McKie and Matt Forte) are liable to get smothered.
The Bears defensive line features an interior presence, Tommie Harris, who moves the pile and blows up plays in the backfield. The offensive line boasts an inside force, Terrence Metcalf, who enlarges the pile and, also, blows up plays in the backfield. The D-line is deep enough for diving; the O-line is shallow enough for kindergarten swim lessons.
